Meatless Mondays

Eco-Club has been long known as a very involved club at McClatchy. Just two years ago, Eco-Club was responsible for implementing the school’s hand dryers, automatic sinks, and flushing toilets that aid in reducing the school’s waste and water usage. However, this year, Eco-Club has found a new cause to lead: Meatless Mondays.
With the hopes of reducing our carbon footprint, Meatless Mondays does exactly what it says–it encourages people to not eat meat on Mondays. As an organization, Meatless Mondays was formed in 2003 for a variety of different reasons, from health to the environment. Healthwise, it encourages a nutritionally rich diet that can prevent heart disease and cancer. With regard to the environment, taking a break from meat for just one day a week reduces water usage, greenhouse gases, and our dependence on fuel. For these reasons, Eco-Club Co-Presidents Samantha Delfino(‘18) and Graeme Dalrymple(‘17) have decided to get involved in the cause, with the goal of banning meat from all Sacramento City Unified School District cafeterias on Mondays.
On September 27th, Samantha and Graeme attended the Sacramento City Council Meeting, where they both spoke on behalf of the organization. “We discussed the environmental effects of constant meat production, and the impact that Meatless Mondays can have on our health and our community. We also spoke about how Eco-Club is planning to further the cause this year.” Delfino stated.
Following their speeches at the City Council Meeting, Meatless Mondays was passed as a resolution. This resolution is a big step forward for the cause because it is essentially City Council recognizing the importance of reducing meat consumption in Sacramento school districts. Additionally, the publicity and exposure the organization gained from the meeting is invaluable.
While Meatless Mondays may be a new concept to Sacramentans, it is certainly not new to other cities in California. Forty-nine other school districts in the state have adopted Meatless Mondays. Notable districts include the Tracy, Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco School Districts. According to Eco-Club Co-President Samantha Delfino, SCUSD is next.
This year, the club intends on lobbying the Sacramento City school district until there are no meat options available to students for breakfast or lunch on Mondays. Not only would this aid in reducing the carbon footprint of the eleventh largest school district in California, it would inform the 42,000 students of SCUSD about the benefits of healthier eating habits, and how to live an environmentally-friendly life. To Eco-Club, this year is about unleashing the potential that Meatless Mondays has to make a difference in the Sacramento area.